Colorado center Matt Duchene skates during practice at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minn., on Wednesday, April 23, 2014. (Karl Gehring, The Denver Post)

My Tuesday skate was switched from South Suburban Ice Arena to sister Family Sports Center and, although I was late, I ran into exhausted University of Denver sophomore goalie Evan Cowley. The Evergreen product had just finished skating with Avalanche forwards Matt Duchene and Nathan MacKinnon and defenseman Tyson Barrie, plus Philadelphia Flyers forward Brayden Schenn. The NHLers are training to compete for Team Canada at the Czech Republic-hosted World Championship beginning May 1, along with Avs forward Ryan O’Reilly.

Good to know MacKinnon, who missed the last five weeks of the NHL season with a fractured foot, is still skating after beginning his on-ice recovery a day before the season finale.

Don’t read too much into Schenn’s participation — the 23-year-old is under contract next season at $2.75 million, before becoming a possible restricted free agent. Schenn does have some history with Avalanche players. He was a Saskatoon Blades teammate with Avalanche D-prospects Stefan Elliott and Duncan Siemens in 2010-11, after being traded from the the Brandon Wheat Kings. Schenn was selected No. 5 overall by Los Angeles in the 2009 NHL draft, two spots behind Duchene, and was part of that big 2012 trade with Philly that sent Mike Richards and Jeff Carter to the Kings.

Jarome Iginla scored a nifty power-play goal at 12:48 of the third period to force overtime:

In a game between two proud teams with just 34 points, the Avalanche blew a 2-1 third-period lead but rallied for a 4-3 overtime victory over the Philadelphia Flyers at the Pepsi Center on the last night of 2014. With a tight deadline, my story heading into the third period was about the Avs’ high-priced forwards again not getting it done, and with two unsuspecting guys without an NHL goal on the season — defenseman Nate Guenin and rookie F Borna Rendulic — lighting the lamp to fuel the victory. But after Vincent Lacavalier and Claude Giroux made great plays/shots to give the Flyers a 3-2 lead, the frantic running game story that’s filed before or at the buzzer turned to this: Patrick Roy’s outspoken frustration about his top forwards continues.

However, Jarome Iginla forced my third re-write with a spectacular shot on a late power play and adjustments were made after Ryan O’Reilly’s overtime goal with 19.9 seconds remaining before the shootout. Avs win, fueled by their top-scoring forwards! The hastily written game story (filed at the buzzer with quotes from the locker room added) is here, although you might find significant information is below. Such as:

— Iginla, Rendulic, O’Reilly and defenseman Jan Hejda — who blocked two shots, the latter while “selling” out in a sideways position that often causes injury — were the last players to take off their equipment and join their teammates in the suit-and-tie room that’s off-limits to the media. This is what happens when a team victory occurs, with multiple guys playing big roles. They take their time getting their skates and other equipment off, and are easily approachable even after they had talked in a media scrum. It was like last season.

Ryan O’Reilly scored his fifth career regular season OT goal (plus one in the playoffs) and his five OT winners rank fourth on the franchise’s all-time list:

— By all accounts, this was a good victory over a good opponent. Philly had lost its two previous games but had collected points in nine of 10 before that. Iginla talked extensively about the similarities and urgency with both teams. “Both teams are in similar positions, both are desperate, we need to move up,” Iggy said. “In the third, getting behind, it was good to stick with it and find a way to score some goals as a team. It’s been tight for us. Good way to end the year.”

— Through an Altitude producer, I learned Michael Del Zotto indeed suffered a nasty gash from his left ear to his cheek from Daniel Briere’s skate blade, and was evaluated and took stitches in the X-ray room after the first period. Apparently, the cut didn’t immediately bleed, which is why we thought it wasn’t serious. Altitude did a post-game interview with Del Zotto, and although I can’t locate it, his gash is significant and another reminder of how dangerous this game can be. Del Zotto was seriously cut in the chest/stomach by Evgeni Malkin’s skate blade in 2010, while playing for the New York Rangers.

— Matt Duchene continues to be the most frustrated Av. The first-line center extended his goalless drought to eight games, and has just two in his last 13. He had just one shot in 17:20 against Philly. “It’s not an easy situation for Dutchy but I’m very confident (in his resolve),” Roy said. “He’s working hard at it. Every day he comes to the rink, he’s asking questions, he does a lot of video with (Timmy) Army and I. He really wants to perform well. He’s the heart of this organization and that logo. He’s playing with a lot of pride and unfortunately for him it’s not going his way.”

— Here’s what Hejda said about his two late blocked shots: “It’s something you have to do in the playoffs, and this is the playoffs for us.”

— Guenin, on his “magic” shot that went through three Flyers and two teammates before landing in the net behind goalie Steve Mason: “I was trying to get the first guy to bite and then get it through. It worked.”

— To “Joe,” the guy who approached my son and gave him a complimentary fourth-row seat in section 120 while he was prepared to buy a $40 ticket and sit by himself: Please email me, I’d like to thank you and wish you happy New Year.

Avalanche defenseman Nick Holden (2) skates to the puck as Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Nicklas Grossmann (8) defends on the play during the first period January 2, 2014at Pepsi Center. (Photo by John Leyba/The Denver Post)

Where did this guy Nick Holden come from, right? He was scratched more than a old soft couch leg in a room full of long-clawed cats, in the first half of the season. That second half? Most excellent.

He scored 10 goals and 25 points in 54 games, with a plus-12. Then he scored three more goals in the playoffs, a plus-2 and a 25-percent conversion rate on his shots on goal. Quite simply, he was the find of the year for Patrick Roy.
He scored a lot of his goals by jumping up and being basically a power forward on the power play, putting home several shots from the left crease.Read more…

The Colorado Avalanche’s Erik Johnson skates away from two players on the Philadelphia Flyers at the Wells Fargo Center on Feb. 6, 2014, in Philadelphia. (Drew Hallowell, Getty Images)

Avalanche defenseman Erik Johnson is scheduled to serve a two-game NHL suspension for his slash against the New York Islanders last week. In a shorthanded situation, Johnson made a two-handed chop at Frans Nielsen’s hands, when Nielsen attempted to rim the puck around the boards. Nielsen suffered a broken hand.

Unless he appeals and wins his case, which is extremely doubtful, Johnson will miss the Feb. 26 and Feb. 28 home games against the Los Angeles Kings and Phoenix Coyotes, respectively, when the NHL resumes from the Olympic break. Johnson’s first NHL suspension is without pay.

PHILADELPHIA – There’s a reason why we hockey types harp over and over on the power play. It’s kind of, well, important.
It doesn’t have to be spectacularly successful to make the difference in winning games. But if it’s really bad, it always seems to make the difference in a loss.

The Avs lost tonight’s game because of a horrible power play, in their own zone and in the attacking zone.

It’s Game 2 of an 82-game season. I’m not pulling the chute here on the season. But unless something is done to make this power play better, it’ll probably be a long, tough season for the Burgundy and Blue.

How many times were you pulling your hair out tonight watching the Avs dither around with the puck instead of putting it on net? I know Joe Sacco was. John Liles and Milan Hejduk manned the points on the PP, which is OK for puck control and passing ability, but neither has a big slap shot, and Hejduk is a liability when pucks get loose at the blue line. He has neither the size nor the defensive instincts to keep pucks in along the wall, or to cut off opponents along the wall on a possible breakout. Read more…

PHILADELPHIA – Greetings citizens. The long road trip begins, with tonight’s Avs-Flyers game from the Wells Fargo Center, which is I believe the fourth new name the building has had since it replaced the Spectrum.
Speaking of the Spectrum, I snapped a picture of it upon walking into the WF Center this morning.

The news from the morning skate is that Phillipe Dupuis will make his season debut tonight, as the fourth line center. He replaces Mark Olver, who had a tough start to his career in Game 1 against Chicago, taking a penalty on his first shift that led to a Hawks PP goal.

“My main goal is to be patient, and wait for my opportunity. Tonight I have it, so I want to grab it while I can,” Dupuis said.

The Avs’ defense will stay the same as Game 1, with Jonas Holos the healthy scratch.

We don’t know if Chris Pronger will play for the Flyers or not yet tonight. I talked some with Ian Laperriere as well, and he’s having an understandably tough time being out of the lineup with concussion symptoms. He may miss the whole year, but Lappy indicated he will try to avoid that.

Here is some video of the Avs skating around just about 20 minutes ago:

From ace odds-maker Jimmy Shapiro, in Las Vegas: The latest odds on All Things Avalanche for 2010-11, from everything on the chances of a Stanley Cup in Denver (40-1) to the over-under on how many points Milan Hejduk will get. Yes, somebody is betting on this tonight, and to them I say: seek counseling.

Tough news for the many Ian Laperriere fans here today: Lappy is out indefinitely with post-concussion symptoms. I chatted some with Lappy today, and he’s understandably bummed, and just hoping the symptoms subside. He’ll visit a specialist in Pittsburgh tomorrow. Concussion stories are becoming all the more frequent around the league, as we well know here in Denver with the Peter Mueller situation. Marc Savard of the Bruins is dealing with recurring symptoms, too, and here’s a great story on his battle with that and depression, by longtime Boston Globe writer and one of my personal heroes, Kevin Paul “Moose” Dupont.

I’m sure many of you will be intrigued to click on the video below. It’s our beloved Foppa, doing a funny commercial — even though it’s in Swedish. Apparently, it’s to advertise for a contest to actually spend a day with him, presumably in Sweden. The ad is sponsored by a yogurt company, Risifrutti. Obviously, Foppa has a little more time to be able to do this kind of stuff.

The latest I’ve heard on him is that, while he hasn’t officially retired yet, it’s not looking good on a comeback.

Brett Favre, the King of the “I change my mind-ers”, the King of Should I Stay or Should I go? Phht. Got nothing on Peter Forsberg.
Our beloved Foppa played a hockey game Tuesday night in Sweden, a charity game for a team of “all stars” called The Icebreakers. He scored a goal, had a great assist and looked like the usual Foppa, according to an eyewitness from Ramsele, Sweden, where the game was played. More than 1,100 people showed up for the game, in a town that has, according to the Swedish paper Aftonbladet, 850 citizens. Here’s the story in Aftonbladet on the game. Hope your Swedish is good.

Forsberg, of course, is thinking about another attempt at resuming his NHL career. He had another foot surgery this calendar year (not sure exactly when) and is calling his latest comeback attempt “The Final Test.” This, after a couple other supposed Final Tests previously. He will train again this fall with his longtime Swedish team MODO, and see what happens.

You always have to wish Foppa nothing but the best and hope the medical gods give him a break. Here’s hoping.
Question is: would the Avs want him back, if Foppa said he wanted to play in Denver? I’m sure the one guy they’d listen to, even in their youth movement, would be No. 21. Odds are probably higher he’d end up in Philly or New York or Washington, but you know Denver will always be where Foppa’s heart is.

Before I go back in hiding, my take on some of the goalie changes around the NHL.

Pierre Lacroix was none too happy when the NHL locked out in 2004. (Denver Post)

Yes, it is. I’m going to start now though.

Talking with a couple of agents, a player here and there, an NHL management type here and there the last few days, and it’s clear to me that the impossibility that we all would assume for the NHL — that it is THE league we’d least have to worry about with regard to another long work stoppage, because of its recent past — is indeed possible.

I’m going to keep this kind of general for now, because it’s a blog and the expiration of the current NHL CBA is still another two seasons away, in September of 2012. I still have a hard time — a really hard time — believing that the NHL and its players would ever let another disastrous canceled season happen. The lost year of 2004-05 remains a dark, awful memory for everyone involved with this game. All that griping, all that posturing, all those “drop-dead deadlines”, all those false starts and crushed hopes. It was awful, and it really hurt the game a lot. Many fans still haven’t come back to the sport, though revenues have grown since ’05, the cap has grown from $39 million to the current $59.4 million and TV ratings have improved greatly.

So why am I worried already? Because I’m a bit of a neurotic first off, a classic glass-is-half-empty kind of guy. In my kind of outlook on life, you go into everything expecting the worst and if it doesn’t happen, it’s a wonderful day, so you’re “happy.” If the worst does happen, you were ready for it. And I’m not changing my stripes at this point.

But secondly, this guy makes me a little nervous:

Getty Images

Charming looking fella isn’t he? That’s Donald Fehr (pronounced “FEAR”), in case you didn’t know, the man who led the baseball players union for 26 years and a couple of work stoppages, including the one that led to the cancellation of the 1994 World Series. Fehr left the MLBPA last year, but he could become the next director of the NHLPA as soon as Wednesday. The NHLPA is holding meetings Tuesday and Wed. in Toronto and could name the successor to Paul Kelly, who was ousted in a despicable, ugly palace coup by scheming, infighting players and other underlings. (This story by longtime hockey writer Jim Kelley summarizes the situation nicely).

Fehr has been working with the NHLPA as an unpaid adviser, but has dropped hints he might take over as director for a while and groom a potential successor. The players clearly want him to take over.

Peter Forsberg poses for a portrait after signing a free agent contract with the Philadelphia Flyers on August 15, 2005 at the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

A brief bit of interesting news today regarding our beloved Foppa, Peter Forsberg, when No. 21 revealed to the Swedish newspaper Expressen that he was offered a contract to join the Flyers in March. Feeling that he wasn’t in good enough condition to play, though, Foppa turned it down.

As far as I’ve been able to gather, there was no such offer from the Avalanche. The rules of the game have changed somewhat over the last few months, as far as eligibility for players to still play in the NHL in a season in which they had already played for another professional team in another league. According to the NHL, Forsberg could have played for the Flyers or any other NHL team had he signed a deal on March 2 (as the Flyers wanted) with two provisions:
1. He would have had been subject to the waiver process.
2. He would have had to sign before the NHL trade deadline, otherwise he would have been ineligible to play in the postseason.
Under the old NHL-IIHF agreement, players couldn’t play in the NHL that same season after playing in one game with another pro league.

Here’s how Szymon Szemberg, communications director of the IIHF, summed up the situation when I asked him today:
“With no transfer agreement in place between the IIHF and the NHL, Forsberg would have been free to sign with any NHL team if he was a free agent. The new Sweden-NHL tranfer agreement is irrelevant here as it didn’t apply back in March. We don’t know what Forsberg’s contractual situation with MODO was on that date. MODO were still in the playoff race following the Olympics and Peter played so he must have had some kind of an agreement with them.

Under terms of the old and expired IIHF-NHL Player Transfer Agreement, Forsberg would not have been able to move as that PTA had a clause that protected European teams from losing players that late during a season.”

Forsberg’s contractual details with Modo remain private (not as easy to get details as it is in the NHL), but it was heavily rumored that Forsberg never took a salary from Modo, because of severe financial problems with the team. In fact, he and Markus Naslund reportedly played there only to help Modo sell tickets, never drawing a salary.

Anyway, as the Expressen article said, Forsberg has not officially ruled out a return to the NHL. But, as always with him, things remain murky because of his chronic health problems. He’ll be 37 in July (which hardly seems possible, does it?), and even if he were perfectly healthy, that’s a tough age to play and be effective in an NHL that seems to get younger and faster every day.

– – – – – – – – – – – – –
Not much to report on the state of talks with some unsigned Avs players. I chatted the other day with Eustace King, the agent for Avs winger Chris Stewart, and he declined to get into how talks are going with the team toward a new deal. After his breakout 28-goal season, Stewart no doubt is looking for a healthy raise on the $850,000 he made last year.
I’m speculating here, but I would have to think the Stewart camp is looking for something in the range of $2-3 million per year on a new deal. He’ll be a restricted free agent, which means he’s unlikely to get any offer sheet from another team, but you never know. Obviously, every day that passes without a deal (and I do know the sides have talked) lends itself to more speculation that the sides are somewhat far apart.

There is not much to report on the talks surrounding Kyle Quincey either. He is the one Avs player eligible to seek arbitration next month. He made $550,000 last year, and you know he’s going to want to at least double that, maybe triple or quadruple it.

– – – – – – – – – – – – –

Some links:
— My summation of some highlights of the just-concluded NHL season.

— A great CBC video montage of the season, which includes some good Avs stuff.

— Can you believe old friend Johnny Boychuk could be looking at some big bucks on his next contract, probably with the Bruins?

— Interesting take from longtime Dallas Stars beat writer Mike Heika on Chicago’s salary cap dilemmas, and who might be available. The Avs obviously have the cap room to take on a Hawk or two in trade. Problem is, I don’t see the Avs giving up good young prospects or draft picks – the only thing the Hawks could accept. Then again, wouldn’t it be nice to see a Patrick Sharp or Kris Versteeg on the team for a reasonable price?

— News flash: Dion Phaneuf is the new captain of the Maple Leafs. When you lead by example on and off the ice like Dion does, it’s a no-brainer.

— Here, folks, is the latest list of potential restricted and unrestricted free agents around the league (although, after just looking at it a little closer, I see it’s not updated too thoroughly, as some guys on the list have re-signed with teams, or retired. But it’s still a pretty comprehensive list). July 1st isn’t far away.

Claude Giroux got the overtime game-winner last time out. Game 4? It's up for grabs. (AP)

PHILADELPHIA — We’ll once again be offering live coverage, updates and blog posts from Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Finals. The Chicago Blackhawks lead the series 2-1 after Philadelphia won Wednesday off Claude Giroux’s goal 5:59 into overtime in what turned out to be a thrilling, physical back-and-forth match-up at the Wachovia Center in front of 20,297 fans.

Adrian wrote a story for today’s Denver Post on former Avalanche player Ian Laperriere, now a member of the Flyers, and the tough road he’s taken to come back for this Stanley Cup Final series, after taking a slapshot in the eye against the New Jersey Devils and suffering a brain contusion that almost left him entirely blind.

Follow our in-game updates below.

11:06 p.m. | The Flyers have won Game 4 here in Philadelphia 5-3. Philadelphia, consistently familiar with being ruled down-and-out throughout this playoffs, has new life after tying the series at two games each. Game 5 is Sunday in Chicago. Off to the locker room … — DP

11:03 p.m. |The Philadelphia Flyers have scored on an empty net with 25 seconds remaining, virtually assuring them a win in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Finals and sending the series back to Chicago on Sunday tied at two. The Flyers’ Jeff Carter scored the goal, his fifth of the playoffs. — DP

10:54 p.m. | The Blackhawks have pulled within one goal thanks to defenseman Brian Campbell, though officials upstairs reviewed it to see whether it was kicked across the line. The score is now 4-3 with 4:10 remaining in the game. The Flyers have sat back a little too much in this final period and let the Blackhawks creep back into this one, and that means this is going to be a tense final few minutes for Flyers fans. The crowd — energetic and loud throughout this game — is suddenly a lot more subdued. The Flyers can’t seem to get control of the puck cleanly in their own zone, perhaps because they’ve exhausted a lot of their energy from earlier in the game. — DP

10:46 p.m. | That didn’t take long. Just seconds after the 5-on-3 started, Chicago scores its second goal. Dave Bolland gets the goal for the Blackhawks — his 7th of the playoffs — with assists from from Duncan Keith and Patrick Kane. This game isn’t finished just yet, and it seemed like only a matter of time before Chicago would get one in after so many close calls. — DP

10:44 p.m. | Well, now this is interesting. About 57 seconds of 5-on-3 hockey about to take place. Chicago finally gets another power play on an unsportsmanlike conduct call on Scott Hartnell first, then a two-minute holding penalty against Bryadon Coburn. — DP

10:38 p.m. | Ville Leino probably wraps it up with that pinball goal. That was his 16th point of the playoffs, tying him with Brian Propp for most points in the playoffs for a rookie in Flyer history. Leino was a former Red Wing, given up by Detroit in a trade for, basically, a song. It’s one of the few really bad trades in the tenure of Kenny Holland as Wings GM.

Flyers have played just a tremendous game. This series is going to last another few days at least, much to the delight of Gary Bettman, the NHL, NBC and Versus. — AD

I’m not an ad man for the NHL and its “platforms”, but I know a lot of you like to know what’s going on with programming plans for things like the Stanley Cup Finals.
So I’m going to re-post a press release that just came out from the NHL, about its programming schedules and offerings, etc.
Incidentally, I’ll be in Philadelphia next week for Games 3 and 4, covering them for the paper. You can expect to see a big story on Ian Laperriere as part of my time there.

Here’s the release:
CHICAGO (May 27, 2010) — The National Hockey League today announced its plans for all-access coverage of the NHL’s 2010 Stanley Cup Final between the Western Conference Champion Chicago Blackhawks and Eastern Conference Champion Philadelphia Flyers. The final series, scheduled to start in Chicago on Saturday at 8:00 p.m. ET (NBC, CBC, RDS), will feature two teams who are meeting in the Stanley Cup Final for the first time in their storied histories.

NHL Network™, NHL.com, and NHL Radio™ will launch their coverage today, Thursday, May 27, at NHL Media Day. The NHL’s coverage, a multi-platformed connection for fans to all of the news and information for the 2010 Stanley Cup Final, will provide pre- and post-game reports, expert analysis, feature interviews and exclusive video. Read more…

Terry Frei graduated from Wheat Ridge High School in the Denver area and has degrees in history and journalism from the University of Colorado-Boulder. He worked for the Rocky Mountain News while attending CU and joined the Post staff after graduation. He has also worked at the Oregonian in Portland, Ore., and The Sporting News. His seventh book, March 1939: Before the Madness, was issued in February 2014.

Chambers covers college and professional hockey for The Denver Post. He has written for the Post since 1994, after dumping his first 9-to-5 office job a couple years out of college. He primarily follows the University of Denver hockey team and helps cover the Avalanche.